When it comes to the Worcester County and the Ocean Pines Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant, Ocean Pines gets little or no respect.

The latest example is the Worcester County Commissioners' vote allowing County staff to begin negotiations with Ocean Downs Casino regarding the purchase of their well-water system. Only Commissioner Jim Bunting voted against the proposal. The presentation by Worcester County Director of Public Works Dallas Baker suggested buying the wells from the casino owners for $1 million would eventually recoup millions in savings and improvements. All future speculation.

Baker also told the Commissioners, "Ocean Downs is willing to grant us an easement across their property for a force main bypass of the Riddle wastewater plant."

Why is this a concern to property owners in Ocean Pines?

As background, 15 or so years ago when the County expanded the capacity of the Ocean Pines sewage treatment plant, County officials told Ocean Pines lot owners the expansion was only needed for the Ocean Pines subdivision. History has proved that to be a lie.

In November 2004, I wrote, "Have the lot owners of Ocean Pines been saddled with millions of dollars of debt for a sewage treatment plant expansion to primarily subsidize land owners outside Ocean Pines?" How true that turned out to be, with the plant currently still sitting on thousands of excess sewer connections.

On December 28, 2004, I wrote, "The issue of hooking up new developments to the Ocean Pines sewer plant is only the first salvo in efforts to maximize development in the north end of the county without adequate concern or planning for what comes with development."

Most property owners are unaware the County has since constructed both water and wastewater lines from the Ocean Pines water and wastewater plant to the south side of Turville Creek near the casino and Riddle Farms. Riddle Farms has a failed sewage treatment plant, going on perhaps a year or more. The County is hauling sewage from Riddle Farms via tanker trucks to other plants for treatment, primarily the sewage treatment facility in Ocean Pines.

Presumably, once the wastewater bypass is completed, Riddle Farms sewage can be pumped directly to the Ocean Pines plant. Adding insult to injury, Baker said a speculated windfall of $6 million to the County would be used to pay off Riddle Farm debt, the cost of painting their water tower, and the cost of a connection to a treatment plant in Mystic Harbor in West Ocean City.

Will the County fuel development in the Route 611 corridor with sewage sent to the Ocean Pines plant for treatment? 

This proposed interconnection of the Ocean Pines water and wastewater service to Riddle Farms and Mystic Harbor is potentially of great benefit to developers. There is little, if any, real benefit to Ocean Pines, only potential serious downsides. Yet none of the speculated windfall money is proposed for Ocean Pines.

Everything, as usual, is about the money - using your money to make development easier and less expensive.

There may be as many or more than 4,000 excess connections, so-called EDUs (Equivalent Dwelling Units) available in the Ocean Pines plant. A year or two ago the Ocean Pines sewage treatment plant treated only about half of its capacity on the highest flow period of the July 4th weekend, according to the former plant manager. Maybe the plant could eventually take another 6000 connections. The County has offered no hard data in that regard.

These connections are more valuable than gold for developers. The key to development in this entire area of the County lies in the excess capacity of the Ocean Pines plant, despite any protestation by the County to the contrary. Without the Ocean Pines plant, new development would likely require the use of spray irrigation and the resultant loss of valuable development land acreage.

The recent Commissioners vote allows negotiation talks between County staff and the casino owner. Time will tell what happens, but that axiom of "money talks" is in play.

Property owners and developers have rights. Worcester County, like most governments, uses a comprehensive plan and zoning in an attempt to bring order out of what would be chaos without such controls. On the other hand, some law firms make a living convincing county authorities that errors were made in zoning or a comprehensive plan. Developers have the money to pay them.

Does Worcester County have the obligation to collect and spend service area rate-payer dollars to provide future sewer connections for land developers outside the original service area, as happened in Ocean Pines? 

At some point, expect to be bombarded with propaganda about the wonders of interconnections, and how creating thousands of excess sewage connections years ago with your money will improve your quality of life.

Interestingly, over 20 years ago when Worcester County took ownership of the Ocean Pines water and wastewater system from the then semi-private Worcester County Sanitary Commission, the Commissioners created an advisory committee, comprised of individuals from Ocean Pines appointed by the Commissioners.  Their charge was to look out for the interests of Ocean Pines lot owners.

This committee still exists. Members still meet, perhaps monthly, at the Ocean Pines plant. Meetings are rarely, if ever, publicly announced or reported in local papers. Meeting minutes are virtually impossible to find. In general, the committee has more or less rubber-stamped anything the County decided to do since inception.